(NAME-MCE) Director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences - University of Washington Tacoma

[academic at u.washington.edu]

The University of Washington Tacoma invites nominations and applications for the position of Director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. 

The Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) Program is an evolving, culturally relevant course of study grounded in a respect for diversity and responsiveness to the needs and desires of the communities and the environment around us.  We are committed to maintaining an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge and inquiry and to serving as the cornerstone of a University dedicated to education in the liberal arts and sciences.  IAS faculty and staff value the Program’s non-departmentalized organizational foundation and are searching for a candidate with the skills to help this growing and complex unit build new degree programs, oversee the physical expansion of the unit, and develop new organizational structures. 

Applicants should have the academic credentials and scholarly record to be eligible for appointment and tenure at the rank of Professor.  A Ph.D. is required at the time of appointment. The wide-ranging duties of the director and the complexity of IAS as such that the successful candidate will have demonstrated excellence in academic leadership, with five years or more experience at the department chair level or above. In addition, successful candidates should have a demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and research, a record of accomplishment with regard to diversity in faculty, staff, students, and curriculum, a commitment to shared governance, and extensive background in curricular planning and development.

Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences is the original academic unit at the University of Washington Tacoma, founded in 1990.  It has over 60 full time faculty, over 10 staff members, and more than 1,000 FTE students. In conjunction with significant planned growth of the Tacoma campus, the Director will oversee the development of new undergraduate and graduate degrees and initiatives, expansion of the faculty, and development of new and renovated physical spaces.  The ideal candidate will also possess a demonstrated capacity for and record of strategic planning and assessment, success in fund raising, and a commitment to building community ties and support.  The Director should have a commitment to achieving excellence in research and teaching, faculty development, and student recruitment.

This full-time, tenured position serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the program.  He or she will work in concert with other senior campus leadership and faculty to help create and maintain excellent educational programs, recruit, support, and retain faculty, and complete the necessary infrastructure for support of lower division students.

One of three campuses of the University of Washington, UWT is a metropolitan university that currently offers undergraduate and graduate education to students of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds in the South Puget Sound region. Originally founded as an upper-division campus, beginning in the fall of 2006 the campus admitted its first cohort of freshmen.  It is an innovative, fast-growing, eighteen-year-old campus located in downtown Tacoma’s historic warehouse district. The campus has won national awards for urban design and historic preservation.

For information about UWT, see our website:
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/
For information about the IAS Program, see:
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/ias/

The position is available July 1, 2009.  Salary and benefits are competitive and commensurate with credentials.  Applicants should submit a statement discussing the applicant’s fit with the qualifications and responsibilities outlined above, a curriculum vitae, and names and contact information for five references.  Screening of applicants will begin November 21, 2008, and continue until the position is filled.   Questions may be addressed to the Search Committee Chair, Professor Marjorie Dobratz, mdobratz at u.washington.edu

Submit materials electronically to academic at u.washington.edu

The University of Washington is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is building a culturally diverse faculty and staff and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and covered veterans. Faculty at the University of Washington Tacoma engage in teaching, research, and service. 

This position is contingent upon funding.